Dive Report 21 September

The moon jellyfish and the stingies that go with them are still a problem at the Bridge. Carrie and I did a one hour, forty-nine minute dive in eighty-six degree water with fifteen feet of vis. We saw the moon jellyfish as soon as we entered the water an hour before the posted slack high tide. As we proceeded east around the swim area to dive the east bridge, we saw quite a few jellyfish, but we were able to avoid them. Nevertheless, we both received minor stings from critters or critter-material we couldn't see. "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" anyway, to see what was happening under the east bridge. The resident Atlantic spadefish were there in force. I watched a juvenile sharptail eel for a few minutes as it hunted. On our way back to the beach, just south of the east bridge, we saw a small nurse shark, the first shark I have ever seen at the bridge. Carrie and I saw two other divers; have to love the weekday dives! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 19 September

I was at the Bridge on Saturday with one quarter of the earth's population (approx. 1.5 billion people) and didn't bother to blog the experience. Working with students I could only report on water temperature and vis anyway. Today, however, Carrie and I did a goof-off dive for an hour and forty minutes under the east bridge. We haven't been over there since the beginning of the construction. The reward for the swim around the swim area (I'm not schlepping my gear across the beach when I can travel underwater!) was incredible. We discovered another community of yellow-colored eels that must be cousins to garden eels. Most spectacular were the ENORMOUS school of mackerel scad and the little school of lookdowns. The shadow from the mackerel scad school (it looked like a bait ball; I suppose it was a baitball) was attention-getting, to say the least. The dynamics of the ball were absolutely mesmerizing. The lookdowns are so odd-looking that one wonders how a being that thin can house all the innards critters have to have. Absolutely amazing. There are STILL moon jellyfish, but we experienced only very minor stings, nothing like a few weeks ago when I just wanted to get out of the water. Oh, I almost forgot, the water temperature was eighty-six and the vis was fifteen (a little green) feet. I LOVE the weekdays!! We saw four other divers. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 13 September

I had beautiful conditions at the bridge. The vis was thirty feet and the water temperature was eighty-six. Most importantly, there were maybe eight other divers. I was practicing skill sets with my steel doubles so I didn't bring my camera. Without the camera, of course, I saw a spotted eagle ray, a mantis shrimp, seven little squid hovering like a squadron of mini-spaceships, two species of searobins (I'm not sure which ones), four yellow garden eels (occasional Florida), and the resident octopus in the pvc pipe south of the bridge. There were two, probably, bluethroat pikeblennies having their breakfast. They were fascinating to watch as were the garden eels. Off the beach on the flood side of the tide I saw only one or two moon jellyfish. After slack high tide on the ebb I saw quite a few moon jellyfish under the bridge. I had one very minor sting that was hardly a sting at all. As I moved to the east off the beach toward the end of my two hour, one minute dive (in steel 108 doubles I could have remained until noon Friday...of NEXT week), there were almost no moon jellyfish. They seem to be more prevalent out near the boat channel and under the bridge in the main flow of the tide. A weekday dive on a 9:33 high tide is a very pleasant way to start the day. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 11 September

The good news is that MOST of the stingies are gone; my two students and I only encountered a few minor stings at the very end of our two and one half hour dive, well into the ebb side of the tide in very green water. On the flood side of the tide as the ocean water was coming in, the vis was fifteen to twenty feet and we had no stingies. I saw only one moon jellyfish on the flood tide. On the ebb tide I saw three or four, nothing like the hundreds a week ago. We are seeing only a very few moon jellyfish offshore. My students and I were in doubles so a two and a half hour dive was not a problem. In eighty-six degree water we wore only dive skins; I was very comfortable. We were focused on skill sets and getting used to the feel of the gear so we were not on critter watch. Nevertheless, we did see a beautiful goldspotted eel under the fishing pier and an octopus who resides in a plastic pipe south of the bridge. So the conditions are good again as long as you dive on the flood side of the tide. (EXTRA!EXTRA! The goliath grouper aggregation is going on offshore. We are seeing as many as fifty on the Zion Train wreck series dive.) Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 4 September

Sea lice are STILL a BIG problem! I was hoping that the turbulence from Irene would have cleared out the "stingies", but they are still at the bridge and make diving there an unpleasant experience. Some have suggested that the stinging comes from chopped up moon jellyfish which are at the bridge in both whole and chopped-up status. My student and I were wearing dive skins, but we were both stung around the neck where the critters tend to get trapped and sting with a vengeance. My student had some nasty welts on his neck; I had one that looked like a spider bite. A friend accompanying us wore no exposure suit and although he exhibited no welts, he said he was stung many times. "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln" the vis was ten feet and the water temperature ranged from eighty-six to eighty-eight. We saw two batfish, an octopus, and (the highlight for me on an uncomfortable dive) a yellow garden eel. I am scheduled to take an open water student to the bridge on Tuesday; I want to delay it if I can for a more pleasant experience. Get in the water (after the stingies have gone!), Ham